UC Berkeley Prof. Headed For Ninth Circuit Nomination

According to the Los Angeles Times, Boalt Hall Professor Goodwin Liu will soon be tapped as Obama's nominee to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The move could increase diversity of the federal judicial landscape, as Liu would be the only full-time Asian-American judge on a federal appellate court if he's confirmed.

Lui has managed to amass conservative and liberal admirers, despite the fact that he testified in opposition to Justice Samuel Alito's confirmation in 2006 and criticized his record on capital punishment as showing "a disturbing tendency to tolerate serious errors in capital proceedings."

LA Times: Even without a possible ideological fight, the confirmation process is highly charged for Obama nominees, with Republican lawmakers stalling votes even on those whom they later support. At the moment, 26 judicial nominees await Senate confirmation, including seven to appellate courts. But Obama's judicial choices have won strong bipartisan support on the Senate floor. Liu's supporters hope that his personal story and slightly unpredictable politics will help him win confirmation.

Liu, the son of Taiwanese immigrants and a notable media personality, is an associate dean and professor at Boalt. He was a Rhodes scholar, a YLS grad and a clerk for Ginsberg before joining the faculty. Not bad for a 39-year-old.